Is election uncertainty putting investors off the UK?08:02 GMTThe looming UK General Election is unlikely to have escaped notice. Promising to be one of the closest elections in living memory, there are risks for investors should either Labour or the Conservatives form the dominant party. There are also risks from the disruption created by an unclear outcome and – possibly – a second poll later in the year. But should investors be avoiding the UK as a result?

Deflation risk12/02/2015Disinflation (a decrease in the rate of inflation) has been a constant theme since the end of the financial crisis. There are many factors contributing to lower inflation rates around the world, including excess capacity, ageing demographics (we tend to spend less as we get older), the Internet (a major force in price discovery) and competitive currency devaluations, putting price pressure on countries whose currencies have not devalued. However, the recent, more extreme downward moves in inflation globally have been caused by the sharp drop in oil prices, by over 50 percent during the last six months. As a result, the western world today is experiencing inflation levels far below central banks’ target of 2 percent. There is increased investor unease over the risk of deflation (fall in prices), causing bond yields to head lower and exacerbating the desperate search for yield and income in financial markets.

Enter the Twilight Zone and the buying opportunity of a lifetime 30/01/2015Very few UK-based investors have probably heard of David Iben, the founder of Tampa-based Kopernik Global Investors LLC and the manager of the Kopernik Global All-Cap Fund. Nonetheless, “The Twilight Zone” his latest commentary on global markets certainly provides an antidote to the “investment outlooks” that tend to dominate the financial media.

Asia is compelling despite ongoing divide in opinions – Liontrust28/01/2015Asia continues to divide opinions, but specialists at Liontrust have strong belief in the region, which “offers compelling combination of decent yield, relatively low valuations and decent growth,” according to Mark Williams, manager of Liontrust Asia Income Fund.

Peering into 2015 21/01/2015Nancy Curtin, CIO of Close Brothers Asset Management, takes a look at what 2015 has in store and how to react.